BBC iPlayer app heads down under

The BBC’s iPlayer app is spreading its wings a little further afield once more today, with the announcement that it will soon be available in Australia.

After a successful launch in western Europe in July, the Beeb are now setting their sights on other global territories, with Australia being a major English-language nation.

“This unique Video On Demand product combines the classic with the contemporary and allows subscribers to mine seventy years of brilliant BBC programmes,” said Jana Bennett, president, worldwide networks and global BBC iPlayer.

“We launched the global BBC iPlayer because we think there’s an untapped market for the ‘best of British’ shows, both for Brits living abroad and for all those people we know have a love of great British television, nowhere more so than Australia.”

To further the iPlayer’s global profile, the BBC have also appointed a new general manager for the product. Matthew Littleford takes the role after joining BBC Worldwide in April 2011. He will be responsible for the iPlayer’s editorial, operational, marketing, promotion, product and technology concerns.